Knapp Pleads Not Guilty To Shooting Incident
(Le Mars) — In Plymouth County District Court this week, 82-year old Thomas Knapp has entered a not guilty plea to charges he killed his wife’s son. Fifty-one-year-old Kevin Juzek died during a domestic disturbance May 11th in rural Merrill. Investigators say Knapp shot Juzek with a shotgun through a bedroom door, then deliberately shot the victim again in the chest.
Knapp is charged with first-degree murder and willful injury in the case.
Governor Reynolds Tells Schools To Hold In Person Classes
(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds resumed her COVID-19 news conferences on Tuesday, and she fired a shot across the bow of those schools that have said they don’t feel compelled to follow Reynolds’ order to have students in class, but rather to conduct all courses on-line.
Reynolds then cited the specific legislation that would require schools to conduct in-person classes.
The Urbandale School Board has voted to defy the state and continue with virtual learning at one of its elementary schools. Rolling Green Elementary has a year-round schedule and got a waiver to began classes on-line. The Iowa Department of Education denied the request for Rolling Green to continue on-
line learning and says they must go to in-person classes at the end of this week. Reynolds acknowledged Rolling Green Elementary School is in an unique position.
Reynolds was challenged about her position to hold at least 50 percent or more of the class time in a classroom setting.
The governor defended her position as to why students should be in a classroom setting when school begins.
Reynolds says students may encounter far more greater problems than being infected with the virus, if they are not in a classroom setting.
Reynolds told the media that she has a daughter that teaches in a public school, and she has grandchildren that attend public schools. She says there is no way in the world she would do anything to bring harm and danger to any of her family members by ordering in-classroom education.
Reynolds Recites Statistics To Offer Reassurance Against COVID-19 Virus
(Des Moines) — During the governor’s news conference held Tuesday, Governor Reynolds tried to give some reassurance about the progress being made against the COVID-19 virus by offering statistics. Reynolds says since the start of the pandemic, health and government officials have been able to learn so much
more about the virus, how quickly it can spread, what demographic is the most vulnerable, and which demographic is the most resistant to the coronavirus.
Reynolds says through the use of testing across the state, officials have been able to better track the trends associated with the spread of the virus.
Reynolds continued by offering updated statistics from last week.
The governor says although there has been a bit of an increase in the number of positive coronavirus cases within recent weeks, she says hospitalizations have trended downward.
Reynolds says the number of positive cases of COVID-19 may go up and down over the course of time, but she believes the general trend is going down, and she reminds Iowans that we all need to take responsibility against the virus.
Reynolds Says Iowa Towns, Cities, And Counties Will Benefit From CARES Act Funding
(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds has set aside 60 million in federal aid for eligible Iowa cities and 40 million for counties to cover pandemic-related expenses.
An additional 25 million in federal funds will be available for local governments to use as matching money for FEMA grants. Storm Lake Mayor Mike Porsch says city officials will have to deal with reduced tax revenue during the current budgeting year.
Porsch and Clay County Supervisor Berlin (BRR-lin) Mathews joined Reynolds at her news conference yesterday (Tuesday). Mathews is president of the Iowa State Association of Counties and he says the pandemic has had a significant impact on county budgets.
Mathews says a survey conducted by the Iowa State Association of Counties suggests county supervisors will have to find a way to cover “tens of millions of dollars” in pandemic-related expenses, so these federal funds are welcome. For example, Mathews says Clay County had to spend over 20-thousand dollars just to reopen county-owned buildings that were closed to the public this spring.
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Iowa Senators Vote Against Deputy Secretary Of Energy Nominee
(Washington, DC) — Both U-S Senators from Iowa have voted against confirmation for Deputy Secretary of Energy nominee Mark Menezes. In a joint news release, Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst pointed to uncertainty for small refinery waives, wasted time and resources to score the waivers again, the lack of transparency in the process and the toll it has taken on
Iowa’s farmers and biofuel producers. Grassley and Ernst say they will continue their push for greater transparency in the waivers process. They say they have learned of six more petitions pending that threaten to undercut the Renewable Fuels Standard and will cause more pain for Iowa producers.
University Of Iowa Faculty, Grad Students Push For Online Classes This Fall
(Iowa City, IA) — Almost 300 faculty members and graduate student instructors have signed a petition calling for the University of Iowa to place a priority on online classes. So far, the university has said classes with fewer than 50 students will be in-person – unless social distancing requirements can’t be met or if there are health concerns from students or
instructors. Those signing the petitions say most classes should be online.
Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa are also holding some in-person classes this fall. Instructors say they are frightened about job security, but they are also frightened about the risk of face-to-face classroom teaching during a global pandemic.
Secretary Of State: Register To Vote Now, Or Update Your Registration
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is encouraging voters to either register to cast their ballots or update their registration to make sure they get an absentee ballot request soon. Pate says his office will be mailing out the ballot request forms in the coming weeks and the best way for
an Iowa voter to make sure he or she gets one is to make sure their registration information is correct. Pate says your address needs to be accurate. He adds, if you’re not registered to vote, “now is a great time to get that done.”
